UFC 132 round-by-round

Hook for Cruz connects early on. They come together, Faber picks him up for a slam but Cruz blocks it. They break but Faber sneaks in a punch. Body kick from Cruz. Another kick blocked. Jab for Cruz and the crowd is very much in the corner of Faber. Faber charges and gets a punch that drops Cruz for a second but he is up before any more damage can be done. Faber misses a huge shot, Cruz tries to tie them up but nothing doing. Cruz catches faber’s leg and lands a kick of his own. Massive uppercut for Cruz. Cruz ducks and throws a haymaker that misses. Leg kick uppercut combo for Cruz. Faber comes in again but Cruz gets the underhooks. They tie up again and Cruz sneaks a knee in. Short elbow for Faber. Cruz catches his leg and gets an ugly takedown at the bell.

10-9 Cruz

Round 2

Right from Faber. Cruz stuffs two takedown attempts. He tries a kick and misses. Cruz is in stalking mode. Hook from Cruz and another. Faber swings wildly and Cruz ducks. Big leg kick for Cruz. Big right from Faber. Kickboxing from both parties. Faber misses a shot. Hook from Cruz. Faber misses a few shots of his own. Cruz whiffs. Faber goes for a single-leg but then backs away from it. Cruz is keeping up a crazy busy pace. He throws a few legs kick which don’t really get through. Faber hits another big shot that causes Cruz to stumble. Cruz ties him up to recover. Cruz ducks under a shot and scores a takedown. Faber gets up after a few seconds and lands a shot. Big combo lands for Cruz in the finals seconds.

10-9 Cruz

Round 3

Leg kick for Faber. Faber misses a big looping shot. Cruz with a straight. Leg kick for Cruz misses. They come together and Cruz gets in a shot or two. Nice shot from Faber. Faber throws another combo that glances. Combo lands for Cruz. Cruz misses a few kicks and seems to finally be slowing down. Faber grabs his back and gets a takedown but Cruz scrambles and gets on top, Faber slides out and lands a right on his way out. Jab for Cruz. Cruz’s workfate is much higher than Faber’s. Faber goes for broke with a big shot and again Cruz ducks underneath it. Hook for Faber lands. Jab from Cruz. They tie up against the fence with Cruz in the dominant position.

10-9 Cruz, though this was the closest round thus far.

Round 4

Knee from Cruz and a left from Faber. Two huge fists from Cruz land and Faber retreats. Faber has switched to a more defensive strategy. Then he lands another shot that drops Cruz again. Faber is now on the offensive, perhaps smelling blood. Uppercut for Cruz, left for Faber. Left hook for Faber. Cruz comes in but can’t really get through. Body kick for Cruz. Faber catches Cruz with a shot on the chin. Cruz comes super close to getting a takedown on Faber, then Faber stuffs another. Cruz hits a nice right, tries to grab Faber in the clinch but cannot. Faber comes in hard with a combo. Another punch connects for Faber. Cruz comes in with a knee from the clinch. Faber lands a shot, Cruz goes for a takedown but he looks gassed and it fails.

10-9 Faber

Round 5

Flying knee from Cruz kind of connects, then he keeps on the attack trying for a takedown. They break and Faber tries to come forward himself. Cruz gets him down and tries to take his back. Faber stands up but can’t break the hold immediately. Cruz presses him up against the cage and then they break. Soft jab from Cruz, he comes in and Faber grabs the neck and goes for the guillotine. He has it for a second or two but Cruz breaks out of it. Takedown for Cruz, Faber gets up right away. Another takedown and another stand-up from Cruz and Faber. Cruz gets him up against the Octagon again and Mazzagatti is imploring them to get off the cage. Faber hits a big shot but Cruz isn’t bothered by it. Inside leg kick for Cruz. They both start throwing punches, Cruz gets two kick takedowns and then lands a knee. They are back on the cage. Faber gets free and they dance around until Cruz tries one last takedown, and the fight ends.

Silva opens with a straight right. Leben comes in hard with an uppercut. Silva is hurt. Leben comes in with four more uppercuts, all of which land. Silva drops to his knees and Leben keeps nailing him with shot after shot to the face. Leben lands a few more straight to the head and Silva is out cold.

Chris Leben def. Wanderlei Silva via KO, Round 1 (0:27)

Lightweight bout

Dennis Siver (18-7) vs. Matt Wiman (13-5)

Round 1

Leg kick from Siver. How long before he throws a spinning back kick? Leg kick returned from Wiman. Wiman goes for a single-leg take down but Siver sprawls his way out of it. Wiman misses a killer head kick. Leg kick from Siver. Another kick from Wiman is blocked. Inside leg kick for Wiman lands. Siver comes in and lands a few shots to the noggin of Wiman. Wiman gets Siver pressed up against the cage, drops a level and goes for the takedown but cannot get it. He won’t give up the leg and Siver tries to go for a choke. They break and Siver swings for the face. Wiman goes for another leg kick, misses, Siver then rolls it into a takedown. Wiman wants a kimura but Siver gets up. Siver lands a big shot in the stand up. Wiman goes for another single leg takedown but once again fails. Uppercut for Siver. They hit the go, Wiman rolls into a dominant position. The round ends and it was an ultra close one.

10-9 Siver

Round 2

Siver throws a kick, Wiman catches it and tries to plow through for a takedown. Wiman keeps driving for a takedown against the fence, the crowd begins to boo and the action has stopped. Wiman is desperately holding onto that leg but cannot get the takedown. He pushes backwards, Siver stumbles and Wiman ends up on drop. He drops an elbow. Siver has been cut on the forehead and it is a bleeder. Siver hits a short elbow from the bottom. Wiman lands a few big elbows. Wiman is in a very dominant position right now. Siver is in full guard. Wiman lands another elbow and Siver is a bloody mess. Wiman keeps on him with the ground and pound. More elbows from Wiman. Wiman is unloading with elbows. This round has been gruesome.

10-8 Wiman.

Round 3

Wiman goes for another single-leg takedown but Siver is having none of it. Siver sprawls and takes top position. Siver stands up and they break. Spinning back kick from Siver is a miss. Leg kick from a tired Wiman. Siver boxing with him and showing more aggression. Leg kick from Wiman lands nicely. Siver lands a front kick. Big hook for Wiman. Wiman goes for another takedown. WIman gets him up against the cage again and Siver lands some weak short punches. Short knee from Siver. WIman goes for a guillotine. SIver pops out and Wiman goes for a triangle but Siver gets out easily. Siver gets his leg caught and Wiman sweeps the leg out from under him. Another guillotine choke from Wiman is a bust. Siver gets him down but isn’t showing enough urgency to finish the fight. Siver goes for a choke but the round ends. Ultra close but we’ll go …

Bader starts off with a wimpy leg kick. Another one misses. Bader connects with a straight right. Jab for Bader. Leg kick Bader. Ortiz tries a right of his own but it is blocked. Leg kick from Ortiz. Ortiz drops Bader with a shot to the face. Ortiz gets on top and tries to ground-and-pound him out. Bader survives but finds himself quickly in a very deep guillotine choke. He holds out, can’t tell how bad it is. Bader stays alive for a few more moments then taps out for a shocking upset and a career-saving victory for Tito Ortiz. He expends even more energy hopping around the cage, it’s impossible not to be happy for the guy.

Tito Ortiz def. Ryan Bader via Submission, Round 1 (1:56)

Welterweight bout

Carlos Condit (26-5) vs. Dong Hyun Kim (14-0-1)

Round 1

Slow start, Condit throws a kick but limited returns. Condit comes in with a punch, Kim ducks under and gets the takedown. Condit sweeps his way out of it, looks for guillotine but Kim slides out and we are back in the stand up. Condit throws and misses an uppercut. Condit misses a Superman punch. Not much happening here in the opening frame. They come together and exchange blows, Condit gets the better of it. Condit leaps forward and catches Kim flush with a flying knee. Kim slumps backwards against the cage, Condit comes it and nails him with a few clean shots to the face. Kim is out and the fight is over.

Carlos Condit def. Dong Hyun Kim via TKO, Round 1 (2:58)

Lightweight bout

Melvin Guillard (27-8-2) vs. Shane Roller (10-3)

Round 1

Guillard comes out bouncing around. Roller hangs back. Big body kick to the gut for Guillard. Combo misses for Guillard. Leg kick for Guillard. Roller has his game face on but isn’t pursuing much offense. Body kick for Guillard. Eye poke lands for Guillard, time is called and Guillard seems upset by the decision. Leg kick for Guillard after the re-start. Knee from the clinch for Guillard. The pace slows. Roller misses a big hook. Guillard nails him with a big hook that drops him. Guillard goes for the hammerfist but Roller gets to his feet, Guillard nails another knee from the clinch that drops Roller again. Guillard once again goes for the hammerfist and this time he is able to finish.

Melvin Guillard def. Shane Roller via KO, Round 1 (2:12)

Lightweight bout

Rafael dos Anjos (14-5) vs. George Sotiropoulos (14-3)

Round 1

Sotiropoulos comes out swinging and pushing forward. Jabs from George miss. Inside leg kick from dos anjos. dos Anjos takes a wild swing and knocks Sotiropoulos flat. Before dos Anjos can ever get there to pounce on him Yves Lavigne jumps in and stops the fight. dos Anjos takes a swing or two after that but the fight is over. Slightly questionable stoppage though the replay shows that Sotiropoulos was pretty much out when he hit the mat.